


Once Bitten

by deathwish1987



Category: Carmilla - J. Sheridan Le Fanu, Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, Vampires
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-15
Updated: 2017-11-21
Packaged: 2018-11-14 13:15:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11208813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deathwish1987/pseuds/deathwish1987
Summary: When lonely girl Sheri meets the dark and mysterious Carmen for the first time at the Storybrooke Costume Ball the story of Carmilla begins to unfold once again, with Henry trying to warn Emma of the danger Sheri could be in and a feud between Carmen and the girl's father, is a happy ending even possible? Do monsters even deserve a happily ever after? [Femslash]





	1. The Lonely Girl

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Hey all, finally decided to start moving my work over from Fanfiction.net just so I can keep it alongside my original stuff. Its been a while since I started this story and I haven't gotten much work done on it due to publishing my own book, my day job, writer's block and plain ol' laziness. I will eventually get around to finishing it though!
> 
> If you'd like to support my writing please check out my author's page on Amazon - [S.J.Lee](https://www.amazon.co.uk/S-J-Lee/e/B06Y4ZF3SP/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1).

Once Upon a Time

Once Bitten

Chapter One: A Lonely Girl

_-Enchanted Forest-_

Laura sighed softly, her breath misting slightly in the cool mountain air as she gazed forlornly at the small village in the valley below the castle from the window of her room, her head leant against the rough stone wall and a fur cover wrapped around her shoulders and a simple cream tunic with pale yellow skirt pooling around her legs in gentle waves as she let her mind wander.

There were people in that little village; she knew this for a fact as she had passed through many times with her father and a small enterouge of guards, however she'd never actually spoken to anyone. She wondered what their lives were like; surely there were other girls her age that lived there, what did they talk about? What was life actually like when you didn't perpetually have armed men standing stoically around you or your father hovering just over your shoulder?

Laura sighed again, dragging her eyes away from the village to glance about her room, a four-poster bed, pale yellow curtains with gold trim pulled back to reveal a similarly coloured duvet that she knew was almost excessively comfortable, two dark oaken wardrobes painted ivory white sat on either side of the bed a chest sat at the foot of it, while across the room sat an oaken vanity, melancholy blue eyes stared back at her from a youthful face, skin as pale as moonlight and framed by light brown hair currently pulled into a loose braid that lay over her shoulder.

A knock on her bedroom door drew her out of her thoughts; she briefly toyed with the idea of just ignoring it but decided against it and with an almost bored "Come in" she turned back to the village.

The door creaked open and she didn't even need to turn to know that it was her father, other than the maid he was the only one to ever visit and the maid had already been by earlier.

"Laura, sweetheart, it's good to see you again." His voice was warm, the affection clear and Laura turned to smile at him. He was a thin man, hair a dignified silver from age and brushed back away from intelligent blue eyes, the years had been kind to him and he grinned warmly down at her, his arms held behind his back.

"Hello father, it's good to see as well. How was your trip to Snow White's?"

"Eventful although I am sure you would find it all very tedious."

"I would have still liked to accompany you, perhaps I could join you next time?" she turned hopeful blue eyes on her father but he merely frowned down at her.

"You know it's too dangerous at the moment, even with that man locked away the Evil Queen is still at large."

"But father!" she implored, rising to her full height even though she still barely reached his shoulder, "Why would she have any reason to attack us, we have nothing to offer her and surely we would be safe in Snow White and Prince James' own palace! I'm not a child anymore, I don't underst-"

"NO!" her father's roar dropped her back into her seat and she stared up at him with wide eyes, he closed his own briefly and turned his head away before continuing, much calmer, "There is always the chance of danger, with your mother gone." He paused and Laura could see him visibly fight back tears before he carried on, "I don't know what I would do if anything ever happened to you."

Laura quickly lowered glassy eyes to the floor, her hands fisting her skirt tightly, "I know father but sometimes." Shaking her head lightly, she lifted her eyes to gaze back out the window to the village; she continued on in a much quieter tone, "Sometimes I feel like a prisoner in my own home."

Silence filled the room; she could feel her father watching her as she continued to stare down at the village with sad blue eyes.

"There is a masquerade ball in a few days." Laura turned to her father, clear confusion clouding her features at her father's odd segue, he was not meeting her eyes and instead looking out the window to the valley, "I received an invitation for two" hope and excitement bloomed in Laura's chest, her father turned his gaze back to her and smiled warmly, "how would you like to join me?"

She threw herself forward, the fur blanket flying from her shoulders as she gripped her father around the chest in a tight hug, she felt his chuckle rather than heard it with her ear pressed against his chest, "I take it that's a yes?" he whispered gently as he wrapped her in a warm embrace.

_-Storybrooke-_

Storybrooke Annual Costume Ball

Town Hall

7:30PM – 1AM

Emma continued to stare at the poster highlighting the town's annual costume ball posted on the window of the diner, part of her wondered if it were some kind of joke. The door to the diner suddenly opened to reveal Ruby in her usual barely there work "uniform", one dark eyebrow raised as she regarded Emma.

"So, you going to come in or just stare at the window all day?"

Shaking her head and smiling slightly Emma merely nodded towards the poster before following the younger woman into the building and up to the counter. "So, what's with the whole costume ball thing? Halloween isn't for months yet."

Ruby glanced up at Emma from where she had started to wipe down the counter before shrugging, "Its town tradition, this time every year we have it."

Before Emma could question further she was distracted by the door opening and closing quickly as Mary-Margaret rushed in, multiple rolls of paper clutched under her right arm with still more stuffed into a satchel hanging off of her free shoulder, her cheeks were rosy from the cold and exertion.

"Hey Ruby, coffee to go please" she turned to Emma with a smile as Ruby got to work preparing her order, "Hey Emma."

Emma nodded her greeting as she took in the other woman's rather haggard appearance and the fact that she was obviously in a rush to get somewhere, "Busy?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, I've still got more posters to put up, then I've got to help with the decorations and I still need to get some volunteers to help out on the actual night."

Emma's other eyebrow shot up, "I'm guessing this is for the costume ball?"

Mary-Margaret turned to the blond with a look of surprise before shaking it off with a wry smile, "Sorry, I forgot to tell you about it." She pulled her slipping satchel further onto her shoulder before continuing, "The school and church hold it every year to raise funds, we put it to a vote and all the kids chose to hold the ball, they even help make some of the decorations for the night."

Ruby placed the to-go coffee cup on the counter and leaned over with her arms crossed and a grin spreading across her face, "It's actually pretty fun, and we supply most of the buffet although some of the other local businesses do help out."

Emma smiled at the thought and was about to offer her own assistance when they were interrupted by a quiet, feminine voice.

"Excuse me, Ms Blanchard?"

They turned to find a young woman no older than 18 he was even shorter than Mary-Margaret, her hair was a light brown and cut so short that it barely brushed her shoulders although her bangs were long enough that she had to brush them out of her pale blue eyes while her skin was almost as pale as the school teacher's.

Mary-Margaret smiled gently at the shy girl, tilting her head slightly to the side "Hi Sheri, you know you can just call me Mary-Margaret right?" at that Ruby grinned broadly at the shorter girl "Hey Sher!"

Sheri smiled shyly at the older women and raise a hand to brush her bangs from her eyes again while nodding her understanding to the school teacher, "Hi Ruby", she turned to Emma and greeted her with a polite nod and a quiet "Sheriff Swan" with her left hand still playing with the hair over her ear in a rather obvious nervous gesture, her other arm stuffed into her denim jacket's pocket.

She turned back to Mary-Margaret before continuing, "I heard you were looking for volunteers to help at the costume ball, I'd like to help out if that would be alright."

The school teacher smiled brightly and nodded towards the younger brunette, "Sure, it'd be a great help!"

"Sure your dad'll let you stay up that late? Isn't it past your curfew?" Ruby smirked at the younger girl teasingly and her cheeks flared red as she glanced away with a slight mumble that sounded suspiciously like "hopefully".

Taking pity on the girl Mary-Margaret grabbed her coffee and then asked "why don't you help me with the posters and then I'll talk to your dad for you?" at that Sheri smiled thankfully at her before nodding goodbye to the other two women as the pair left.

"Hopefully he'll let her go, girl needs some fun in her life", Emma turned to stare incredulously at Ruby's words, noting the look the brunette explained "Sheri got really sick a couple years back, it was a big scare to her dad but ever since he kind of treats her like she's made out of glass, barely ever lets her out of his sight, me and the girls try to include her as much as possible but…" she trailed off and then continued with an almost exasperated air "Honestly, I'm surprised he wasn't here with her."

"Poor kid"

OOO

When Mary-Margaret and Sheri arrived at her father's jewellery store they were greeted by a rather large man with greying black hair cut very short and a well-trimmed moustache. He grinned at the two women as they walked in the door; he had a dark green tool-kit sitting next to him as he worked on the hinges of one of the stores jewellery cases.

"Kiddo, Mary-Margaret"

The pair nodded in greeting to the joiner before Mary-Margaret asked, "Good to see you Mike, I wanted to ask Sheri's father something."

With a brief nod towards the school teacher the large man then bellowed toward the back of the store, "OY! JOE!" shortly after a distinguished looking man with silver hair and wearing brown waistcoat over a cream shift and brown tie entered from the back of the room, he smiled instantly upon seeing Sheri.

"Sweetheart!" he then turned a friendly smile to Mary-Margaret, "Ah, Ms Blanchard, to what do I owe this pleasure? You don't often visit my little shop."

Mary-Margaret smiled at the man and gave a slight nod, "Well Mr Le Fanu, I was hoping you'd let Sheri assist us with the costume ball at the town hall."

At that the older man frowned, glancing at his daughter who dropped her gaze before turning his eyes back to the school teacher who continued to smile at him, "I don't know Ms Blanchard, it carries on well into the night and I'd rather prefer my daughter not be walking the streets at that time."

"Please dad" Joseph Le Fanu turned to his daughter who looked up at him with pleading blue eyes and his frown deepened.

"Now Sheri, we've talked about this-"

"Oh come on Joe!" the large man interrupted as he stood up and put one large arm around the much smaller girl making her seem even smaller by comparison, "let the kid have some fun, it's not like she's gonna be surrounded by strangers! Hell, if you're that worried why don't you go as well, it is for charity you know!"

The silver haired man crossed his arms over his chest and raised his gaze to a corner of the room with a frown, all was silent for a few moments before he spoke again, "Fine, but on one condition-" before he could even finish he found himself in a tight hug by his daughter over the display case of his store.

"Anything daddy!" her voice was muffled slightly by her face being pressed against his chest and he couldn't help the gentle smile that graced his face as he smiled down at his only child.


	2. The Masks We Wears

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you'd like to support my writing please check out my author's page on Amazon - [S.J.Lee](https://www.amazon.co.uk/S-J-Lee/e/B06Y4ZF3SP/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1).

Chapter Two: Masks We Wear

- _Enchanted Forest-_

The room was filled with hundreds of people in all manners of brightly coloured suits and elaborate dresses, their faces hidden away by masks in every shape imaginable, the great hall of the palace was decorated in a rainbow of colours with the ceiling sparkling as though it were the night sky itself and Laura took it all in with eyes that sparkled with wonder beneath the simple white opera mask that kept the upper half of her face hidden. Everything was almost overwhelming, the people, the colours, the music, so completely unlike anything she had ever witnessed before.

She was not normally one for extravagance and she couldn't help but feel slightly self-conscious and underdressed compared to the other partygoers in her simple pale yellow dress with its slight golden trim a large similarly coloured ribbon wrapped around her waist, her hair done in its usual loose braid that hung over her shoulder, her hand constantly toying with it in a nervous habit. The only extravagance she chose to wear was that of silk choker, a brilliant ruby inlaid at the front, her mother's.

"You look beautiful my dear"

Her father's warm voice drew her attention from the other guests and towards the man to her right, he was dressed in pale yellow jacket with golden trim and tassels at the shoulders that gave it a vaguely militaristic feel, his trousers plain and white while his face was hidden behind a bronze coloured mask that hid his eyes and cheeks. He smiled down at her and she smiled back, her cheeks heating slightly but his eyes soon began roam almost suspiciously over the other guests and Laura felt her stomach drop.

"Now remember sweetheart, stay close to me at all times"

She sighed softly as she turned back to look out at the other guests, "yes father". She followed the older man further into the room and stood by silently as he spoke to other masked individuals, probably dignitaries from other kingdoms or fellow dukes.

It was the fourth such meeting that the thought came to her, she waited until her father moved onto the next masked couple, both dressed elaborately in purple and violet, the woman's hair done up in a style that Laura was positive must have taken her most of the day to achieve and that was if it wasn't just some strange hat to go with the strange twisting mask that she wore. Positive her father was no longer paying attention to her she slowly backed away, making sure to draw as little attention to herself as possible she disappeared into the crowd.

Smiling softly to herself at her great escape she began to take in the room again, watching others as she danced and far too nervous to attempt it herself even if she had a partner, instead she attempted to see if she could recognise any of the masked individuals. Near the centre of the room she spotted a woman whom she was positive was Snow White if her alabaster skin and dark hair were anything to go by, her dress was the purest of white and highlighted in blue but was relatively simple despite her station and the man next to her and dressed in silver would have to be Prince James, their masks were matching and resembled bird's wings, silver for James and white for Snow. They appeared to be talking to a tall, slender, dark haired woman in a scarlet dress with a red cloak covering her shoulders, her mask was odd and although Laura couldn't be absolutely positive she was relatively sure it resembled a wolf.

"People watching my dear?"

An accented voice that brought to mind dark silk whispered in her ear and made her gasp as she spun around in mild fright and as she did so her eyes widened at the woman before her.

She was easily a head taller than Laura with hair as black as raven feathers that reached nearly to her hips; her wore a pure black dress that clung to her curves and left her shoulders bare and revealed tan skin with her arms covered by black silk gloves that reached well past the elbow, most of her face was hidden by a black mask in the curious shape of a cat's ears and behind it were a pair of impossibly dark eyes. Everything about her was dark, almost as though she were a shadow given life.

Laura opened her mouth to speak but her breath caught in her throat and her cheeks filled with blood, the dark woman grinned at her revealing brilliantly white teeth as she leaned into Laura's personal space and the younger woman had the distinct feeling of being a mouse before a hungry feline.

"What's the matter my sweet, cat got your tongue?"

Swallowing almost audibly and shaking her head to regain some sense, Laura attempted to speak again and her cheeks flared redder at the stammer in her voice, "Y-yes, um…who are you?"

The dark haired woman chuckled warmly as she leaned back away from Laura with a smirk, her impossibly dark eyes never leaving Laura's.

"That, my sweet, is a secret", she regarded the younger woman for a moment before reaching out one gloved hand toward her, "would you like to dance?"

Laura dropped her eyes from the woman in black, her own pale yellow gloved arms wrapping around her waist, "I don't know how…" she trailed off, waiting for the other woman to lose interest.

"But would you like to?"

At that Laura looked back up to meet the woman's eyes, she was smiling warmly at her and she once again found her breath catching at how beautiful and gentle it made the other woman. She raised a hand tentatively and placed it in a dark gloved one and said, with a barely there whisper, "Yes".

The other woman continued to smile as she led Laura to the dance floor and once there she spun to face her with an almost unearthly grace, her free hand dropping to Laura's hip and leaving the younger woman no other choice but to place her own upon her shoulder. Much to Laura's surprise the skin was almost cool to the touch, as though the other woman had just come in out of the cold, it was a gentle coolness which seemed to emanate from her entire body and Laura inexplicably found herself relaxing into the soft embrace as the taller of the pair began to lead her in the same slow waltz as the other couples.

Laura soon lost track of time as the two danced, held loosely in the other woman's grasp as she stared with an almost hypnotic trance into a pair of vaguely predatory dark eyes, her cheeks still suffused with warmth and her heart hammering in her chest for some unknown reason. It was near the end of their third or possibly fourth dance that the dark silk voice of the other woman spoke once again.

"I think I shall go outside to take in the night air before I retire for the evening, would you care to join me, my sweet?"

Laura had to almost physically fight back the urge to reply with a yes but it had been some time since she left her father's side, he would surely have noticed that she was missing and disappearing for an undetermined amount of time with the dark woman would hardly help matters once she returned to him.

"I'm sorry…" she trailed into a pause as she dropped her gaze to the side, finding it extremely hard to speak when looking into the other woman's eyes, "but I need to return to my father, I doubt he'd approve of my disappearing for too long"

"Do you always do what daddy tells you?" she could almost hear the smirk in the other woman's voice, as she turned back to look at her she noticed a flash of something in her eyes but it was gone almost as soon as it appeared while the dark woman released her and stepped back, smirking at her she continued with a bow "till we meet again, my sweet" and with that she took off in an almost glide into the surrounding crowd, disappearing with such speed that it was as though she was never there to begin with.

- _Storybrooke-_

Emma sighed for what must have been the tenth time that night, sitting at the door to the main hall of the Town Hall and regretting the fact that she agreed to Mary-Margaret's request to work "security" for the night almost as much as she regretted letting Ruby talk her into actually getting dressed up for the event.

She was currently dressed the part of sheriff, if she were in the old west. She wore a cream shirt beneath a brown waist coat, her badge clipped to the breast and a pair chaps over her usual jeans while her Stetson currently sat on the table next to her. She had her arms folded in front of her, one arm raised so she could rest her cheek against it in abject boredom.

The sound of the door opening barely had her reacting but her eyes did drift to it in time to see Regina Mills step in dressed, in Emma's opinion, as a cross between some kind of queen and a witch, all in black, although perhaps there was a bit of dominatrix mixed in, what with all the leather that was included.

"Madam Mayor" she nodded towards the other woman as she stopped directly ahead of her, "I'm surprised you're here, you don't seem like the fancy dress type", she raised an eyebrow along with her free hand in a silent request for a ticket.

"Miss Swan, I am not completely heartless and this _is_ for charity and the school which Henry attends", she smiled falsely at the blond as she handed over her ticket and then pushed past and through the double doors to the hall.

Emma sighed again, "This is going to be a _long_ night"

OOO

Mary-Margaret smiled at Ruby dressed in her Red Riding Hood costume, if you could call it that seeing as there was so little of it, as she walked past the refreshment table the younger woman was manning before continuing on. So far everything was going smoothly, the hall had been decorated fully, the band had arrived and set up with plenty of time before the first attendees appeared, even Leroy appeared to be behaving himself even if it he wasn't exactly in high spirits.

Not watching where she was going she bumped into someone and as she looked up to apologise she came face to face with David Nolan, wide eyed she stumbled over her words before finishing with a mumbled "sorry" and an awkward smile, her hands clasped in front of her.

"No problem," David smiled down at her and then grinned slightly, "Snow White, right?"

Looking down at herself, Mary-Margaret fanned out her dress slightly, she was wearing the blue and yellow outfit of the Disney cartoon, she then looked back up at David and took in the white and silver of his own outfit, completely with a cape which was currently draped over his left shoulder, she couldn't help but smile as she said, "Prince Charming I assume?"

He gave a slight nod just as the lights dimmed slightly almost as if on cue, the music slowed and all around them couples stepped in close as they began to dance more intimately. David glanced around before returning his smile to Mary-Margaret and with a raised hand asked, "May I have this dance?"

The shorter brunette smiled and with the slightest of nods responded with "You may" as she place her hand in his and stepped forward into a light embrace as the pair began to dance. It felt right, to Mary-Margaret, to be held in his arms like this and almost vaguely familiar although she couldn't remember why as she was positive the two had never done anything like this before.

As they continued to sway to the music she finally raised her eyes to meet with his and for the briefest of moments the whole world seemed to disappear from around them and the pair slowly began to lean in.

"May I cut in?"

An almost teasing voice rang out beside them and broke the trance that they were both in, beside them dressed in a flowing dress with a similar colour combination as David stood Kathryn Nolan and beside her Mayor Mills.

Guiltily the shorter woman stepped away from him and smiled awkwardly at the blond with an overly bright "Go right ahead!"

Kathryn smiled at the school teacher before taking her place in her husband's arms, the pair dancing off into the slowly growing crowd and leaving the brunette with the Mayor as the two matched the married couple.

"I'm sure I don't need to remind you, Miss Blanchard that he _is_ a married man", the Mayor turned to the other woman with a smile that the school teacher thought was a little too satisfied with the situation. Glancing once more at the couple she turned to the Mayor with a tense back and said as clearly as she could around the lump forming in her throat, "No, you don't Madam Mayor" and with that she stalked off to continue her rounds, never seeing the satisfied smile on the other woman's lips broaden at her back.

OOO

Sheri watched the party from a shadowed area of the hall, even though she was able to attend the ball thanks to being a volunteer, she somehow didn't feel like she was actually a part of it, she hadn't even really dressed up, all she had done was buy a headband with a pair of fuzzy cat ears along with a tail that clipped onto the back of her jeans.

"You don't look like you're enjoying yourself kätzchen"

Jumping slightly at the almost silken voice next to her she turned to find a woman that could have easily been a model, she was at least a head taller than Sheri and dressed in what appeared to be a tailored Victorian style suit, a black cape with red lining that nearly brushed her ankles was draped over her shoulders while her black hair, the colour of raven feathers, was tied back in a high pony tail. Her eyes however where what arrested Sheri's attention the most, they were currently highlighted by a good amount of purple eye liner but even that wasn't what caught her attention, they were almost impossible dark, like twin pools of liquid shadow.

Sheri could only stare and as the woman's smirk grew at her silence she felt her cheeks flare with heat and silently cursed her pale complexion from making her embarrassment so obvious.

The dark haired woman chuckled as she crossed her arms over her chest and leant against the wall before asking with a raised eyebrow "Does my beauty astound you kätzchen?"

Sheri opened her mouth to reply but no sound escaped which only made her cheeks flare even redder as she lowered her own eyes from the other woman's dark gaze.

"Well aren't you just adorable, there's no reason to be so shy kid," Sheri looked up at the other woman again who was now smiling at her, it was gentle and seemed to soften her entire being making the dark woman much more approachable although Sheri's heart still thundered on in her chest, "I'm Carmen, Carmen Rouxstein".

Bowing her head slightly the shorter girl managed a barely there whisper of "Sheri".

"So you can talk!" the younger girl glanced up at Carmen through her bangs, her left hand rising to fiddle with them nervously as the dark woman smirked at her before glancing behind her and letting out what appeared to be an annoyed sigh.

Carmen turned her gentle smile on Sheri again before speaking, "Although I'd love to stay and chat more it looks like I'll have to head" pushing away from the wall she gave an exaggerated bow, lifting one side of her cape as she did so and looking at Sheri from under her eyelashes "I look forward to seeing you again, Sheri" with that she straightened and walked off, although glided would probably be a more accurate description.

Sheri watched Carmen go, she walked past a man who appeared to be Father Fitz, the local minister, but even as he turned to the dark girl she seemed to completely ignore him. Carmen's gentle smile returned to Sheri's mind and all she could think was one simple observation.

Her smile never reached her eyes.


	3. A Guest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you'd like to support my writing please check out my author's page on Amazon - [S.J.Lee](https://www.amazon.co.uk/S-J-Lee/e/B06Y4ZF3SP/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1).

Chapter Three: A Guest

_-Storybrooke-_

"Sheri? You okay?"

Jumping at the sudden question Sheri turned to the voice, blushing when she found Mary-Margret sitting down beside her and the Sheriff on the other side of the school teacher, both looking at her curiously.

"She's been staring into space since she sat down", Ruby said from the other side of the counter with a teasing grin aimed at the shorter girl. Sheri ducked her eyes, her left hand lifting to play with the hair brushed over her now very red ear.

She hadn't realised that she had completely zoned out while waiting for her father to meet her at diner for lunch, her mind still occupied by a pair of impossibly dark eyes. In fact she had been so lost in memories of her brief encounter with the mysterious woman that she had completely forgotten where she even was.

"Is something the matter?" she turned back to Mary-Margaret as she spoke, a gentle smile on her face as she looked at the younger woman. Sheri glanced from the school teacher, to the Sheriff over her shoulder and then to Ruby who was now leaning on folded arms over the counter and grinning encouragingly at her. It was at that moment that the thought crossed her that these three women, free to go and do whatever they want within the town might actually know the woman she met at the Costume Ball.

"It's just..." she paused for a moment, steeling her courage as she shyly tilted her head forward so that her fringe nearly hid her eyes, "I met someone last night and..."

Before she could finish Ruby's grin had brightened considerably as she suddenly shot up, her hands braced against the counter she was now practically lunging across in excitement.

"Sweet Sher! Who was it? Who's the lucky guy?"

Leaning back in her stool away from the excitable brunette, Sheri stared at her with wide blue eyes startled by the sudden outburst. Meanwhile Mary-Margaret and Sheriff Swan watched on in amusement as it suddenly dawned on her just how what she had said could be construed.

"N-nothing like that!" she rushed out in a stutter, before ducking her eyes away from Ruby's suddenly disappointed pout and then continuing in a more subdued tone.

"Her name was Carmen Rouxstein..." she trailed off at the sound of the bell above the door chiming and drawing her attention as well as that of the other three.

OOO

As Emma turned to the sound of the diner's entrance to see who had just entered her eyebrows shot up in surprise as she saw Pongo jump to his feet by the table where Archie was sitting and start to growl at the newcomer, something she had never witnessed since moving to Storybrooke. The newcomer was a woman about Ruby's height and age with raven black hair cut short to where it was only about halfway down her neck but what really struck the blond was the almost ethereal beauty of the other woman and the lazy, almost predatory grace she moved with.

She was wearing a pair of dark skinny jeans tucked into black leather boots, a black almost corset like top and a black leather jacket slung over her left shoulder as she regarded her cell phone in her free hand. Everything about her was very dark in a vaguely gothic way and when she finally put her phone in her jean pocket and looked up at them she revealed a pair of impossibly dark eyes and a bored almost impassive gaze, although it soon melted into an amused smirk.

"Kätzchen," the brunette practically purred and the Sheriff unconsciously placed her throaty accent as vaguely German while following the other woman's gaze to Sheri, the girl's face was flushed and her eyes shyly averted.

"H-hi, Carmen" she stuttered out which caused the brunette's smirk to gentle ever so slightly while coming to a stop near her and ducking down slightly to catch the much shorter girl's eyes.

"I was wondering when I'd get to see you again my sweet," Carmen grinned as Sheri's shoulders bunched up further before straightening to glance at the others at the counter. It was then that Emma noted that Ruby had her arms crossed in front of her, almost confrontationally, an annoyed frown on her face which only seemed to amuse the other brunette while Mary-Margaret just looked confused.

"Carmen," the waitress clipped out.

"Ruby," the black clad woman replied with an amused smirk, ordering a coffee to go and only giving the other two women a brief nod of acknowledgement before turning back to the still shyly blushing Sheri.

"So, kätzchen, did you enjoy the rest of the party last night?", Sheri smiled up at her bashfully before averting her eyes, her hand once again raising to play with her hair before she answered with a shy "Yeah."

Emma couldn't help but find the whole display rather cute but decided to take pity on the younger woman and turned to Carmen with a raised eyebrow.

"I don't think I've ever actually seen you at the Diner before."

The brunette turned from Sheri to regard the Sheriff with a wry smile and a shrug before answering.

"I keep pretty late hours so I'm usually only up and about at night," Emma did note that the other woman did appear a little tired, almost lethargic, although she hid it well. Carmen tipped her head back to the entrance of the Diner drawing the Sheriff's gaze to a black pickup truck parked outside, smoke clearly coming from under the hood, "was taking the truck in for a bit of a tune up but she decided she'd had enough before I could even get to Tillman's. I just thought I'd pass the time in here while I wait for a tow."

Emma nodded in sympathy thinking back to all the trouble she'd had with the Bug in the past, "so what is it you do in town?"

"I run the club across from the Rabbit Hole, Cat's Cradle, you should drop by some night Sheriff," she glanced back at Sheri with a wide grin before adding "you to kätzchen," she chuckled lowly as the shorter woman glanced back at her shyly before averting her gaze and hunching her shoulders with a slight smile.

Raising a confused eyebrow at the answer the Sheriff glanced up and down the brunette again before asking "aren't you a little young to own a night club?" which caused the other woman to turn her smirk wryly back to her with a lazy shrug of her shoulders.

"Mother dearest left it to me when she skipped down..." there Carmen paused, her brow furrowing slightly as though trying to recall a memory just out of reach before just shaking it off and continuing, "a long time ago."

_-Enchanted Forest-_

The setting sun cast the castle's gardens in an almost otherworldly light that was truly breathtaking to witness but Laura was only vaguely aware of the beauty around her. Her mind was still occupied by the memory of impossibly dark eyes and a dark silken voice, the cool night air so like the gentle coolness that seemed to suffuse the woman in black from the ball.

So lost in her memories was she that it took her several moments to even realise that her father was speaking to her, the two having gone on an evening stroll around the castle grounds as they did most days. Shaking herself back to the present she turned to her father, noting his melancholy sate.

"I'm sorry father, what did you say?"

The older man was staring at her sadly, before turning to face the winding path through the garden's trees.

"I am afraid," he began in a gentle tone as though already trying the shield her from the news he was passing on, "that General Spielsdorf won't be arriving as soon as I had hoped."

It took Laura a moment before she remembered that the General, an old friend of her father's, was supposed to be visiting within the next couple of days. Colour quickly flooded Laura's cheeks in embarrassment at having completely forgotten about the visit that she had actually been looking forward to once she heard that the General would be bringing along his niece, Bertha Rheinfeldt, who from what she had been told by her father was a very charming girl of about her age.

"Has something happened?" she asked, voice small.

For several moments her father was silent, his brow furrowing and she could instantly tell that he was debating with himself with whether or not to share the news of whatever was holding up his friend. Finally he sighed before continuing, his eyes downcast.

"I'm afraid that his niece, young Bertha, has passed away."

She released a shocked gasp, moisture springing to her eyes at the news of the General's loss before her father continued on.

"He had mentioned in his letters that she was poorly, feeling tired no matter how much she rested but nothing to suggest it was quite so severe..."

He trailed off and Laura turned her eyes to the path ahead of her, feeling a great deal of loss for a girl she had never met and the General himself who she had often considered an uncle of her own. Movement from the corner of her eye pulled her attention back to her father as he retrieved a neatly folded letter from his vest pocket. As he did so, she noted that the sadness on his face had become tinged with confusion and worry.

"His last letter," he paused staring at the letter in question, "it was very strange, I fear that he has taken her passing extremely badly." he trailed off, sympathy for his friend evident in his voice.

Glancing to the letter in her father's hand, Laura asked "what does it say?"

Her father was quiet for a long moment, a frown evident on his face, before he sighed and came to a stop at an intricately carved wooden bench that overlooked the grounds, gesturing for his daughter to sit and then taking a seat next to her once she had done so. Staring across the grounds, brow furrowed, he finally answers her.

"It is erratic, most likely due to how distraught he must be. The letter speaks of a danger that he himself allowed into their home, of a fiend and betrayal." here he paused and shook his head lightly, as if trying to shake some sense into what he had read, "he wrote that he was going to dedicate his life to tracking down and destroying some kind of monster."

There was a long pause after her father finishes speaking before he turns to her with a gentle smile.

"I can understand his feelings, I don't know what I would ever do if I lost you."

She returned his smile weakly, but her mind stayed with the General and what her father had just revealed to her, silently she prayed that he would find what he is searching for.

It was at that moment that the sound of carriage wheels and heavy hoof falls caught their attention, from a distance the father and daughter pair took note of two horsemen dressed all in black appeared at the end of the dirt road not far from the castle, followed by a similarly coloured carriage pulled by four equally dark horses and then two more horsemen.

The carriage itself was decorated in intricate silver markings and gave the air that it belonged to someone of noble birth or equal rank. As she watched the group draw closer she suddenly gasped in shock as one of the lead horses drawing the carriage reared up as though spooked and in turn caused the other three to panic and take off in a fast spirit.

She looked on in silent horror unable to tear her eyes from the scene as the four horses, now out of control, barrelled past the front horsemen at speed with the carriage and its driver rocking precariously as the wheels bounced against the uneven dirt road as it made its way towards them. Her father quickly wrapped his arms around her and turned them around, shielding the encroaching accident from her vision although she still heard the thunderous crash that could only mean that the carriage had tipped.

In the sudden silence she shook off her shock and her father's arm, turning back to take in the scene before her. The carriage was on its side, two wheels in the air still spinning wildly. While the rearmost horses had been dragged to the ground along with the carriage the two in front were still in a panic, almost bouncing from side to side now that they could no longer continue their terrified run. The driver fortunately, although thrown, appeared to be perfectly fine as he pushed himself to his feet and made his way to the panicked horses, attempting to calm them so that they wouldn't take off again.

As Sheri moved closer the four darkly dressed horsemen alighted on the carriage, two removing the traces attaching the horses to the downed vehicle while the others had climbed atop and had opened the door. The first to be helped from the carriage was a tall and slender woman with shocking white hair held up in an intricate bun. Despite the accident she still held herself with a dignified and noble baring, the only sign of distress being her hands clasped tightly around a handkerchief as she watched the two men lift out the other occupant of the carriage.

The two men held between them a limp and unconscious young woman dressed all in black with hair the colour of raven feathers, Sheri could only stare in wonderment as they lowered her gently to the ground, she was impossibly beautiful, almost otherworldly. So enthralled with the other girl, Laura barely noticed her father moving towards the elder woman to offer comfort although she appeared to not even notice his presence.

"She is merely stunned, milady", said one of the horsemen currently crouched beside the sleeping girl and Laura released a breath she hadn't even realised she had been holding. It was then that the white haired woman finally deigned to turn her gaze to Laura's father.

"Excuse me, good sir" her voice was a low almost throaty purr with worry clear in the tone, "could you tell me how far the nearest village is? I'm afraid I am on a most dire journey and must hurry, I will not be able to wait for my dear daughter to recover enough to make the full journey and will need to leave her someplace safe until my return."

Laura's eyes widened and she excitedly grabbed hold of her father's sleeve pulling his attention to her, "Please father, ask that she let the girl stay with us?"

Looking into her wide blue eyes for a moment her father graced her with a slight smile before turning back to the dark haired girl's mother.

"We would be glad to let your daughter stay here as our guest while she recovers and awaits your return."

The woman began to shake her head almost before Laura's father had finished speaking, "I couldn't impose, I will be gone for at least three months. It would be too much trouble to ask you to watch over my child for such length."

"Quite the contrary," he placed his arm around Laura's shoulders and pulled her to his side with a gentle smile "we have recently received some rather unfortunate news and my daughter could certainly use the company of someone her own age, if anything you would be doing us a favour."

The elder woman dropped to her eyes to Laura and for just a moment she felt how she thought a mouse felt before a particularly hungry cat. With a nod she turned back to Laura's father with a stern gaze which belied her earlier worry.

"Very well, but may I speak with you alone for a moment?" with that the woman took her father several paces away until they were out of earshot.

Laura noted that the carriage had now been righted and horses reattached to their traces but her gaze invariable dropped back to the slumbering dark haired girl, awed by ethereal beauty.


	4. Carmilla

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you'd like to support my writing please check out my author's page on Amazon - [S.J.Lee](https://www.amazon.co.uk/S-J-Lee/e/B06Y4ZF3SP/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1).

Chapter Four: Carmilla

- _Storybrooke-_

As Emma watched Carmen interact with Sheri she couldn't help but feel just a little amused at the younger girl's reactions to the brunette's gentle teasing and flirtatious actions. The brunette was resting her hip against the counter and speaking to the shy girl in hushed tones, apparently unconcerned with Ruby who had moved away from the pair but still appeared tense, with her arms crossed over her chest and eyes narrowed. The Sheriff would hardly have been surprised if the waitress started growling at the other brunette.

Before she could get Ruby's attention however, her own was drawn to the door of the diner as the bell jingled once again and a pair of men entered. One was tall and broad shouldered, his hair black but obviously beginning to grey as was his well trimmed moustache. The other was a distinguished looking older gentleman with silver hair and dressed smartly in a waistcoat that wouldn't have looked out of place several decades earlier.

They were chatting amiably to one another but the moment the larger of the men turned his eyes to the counter he instantly fell silent, his brow furrowing into a glare that took the Sheriff by surprise. Quickly following his gaze she saw that he was glaring at Carmen who glanced back it him with a look that was equal parts boredom and resignation. As the two men drew nearer Emma noted the silver-haired man was quite obviously taking note of just how close Carmen was standing to Sheri and it appeared to put him immediately on edge while the larger of the two had now come to stop next to the two young women and was practically exuding his contempt for the brunette from every pore to the point that Emma wondered if she would have to step in.

"Well," Carmen sighed as she turned back to Sheri with a wry smile, "looks like I've run out my welcome. See you around, kätzchen" with that the brunette pushed away from the counter, nodding towards Emma and Mary-Margaret as she made her way to the door, all the while with the large man glaring at her.

The door had barely closed behind the girl before the dark haired man spoke towards Sheri, "You should stay away from her kiddo" his words causing the smaller girl to duck her eyes as the other man, whom Emma assumed was her father, put his arm around the girl's shoulders.

Glancing out the window to see that Carmen was now standing next to her pickup truck, probably waiting for Tillman to appear with his tow truck, Emma couldn't help but ask the large man, "why?"

Still glaring at Carmen the man simply stated "she's trouble" before finally turning to the counter. This only made Emma even more confused, although she did wonder just how close-minded a small community like Storybrooke could be as her gaze dropped to Sheri who although her head was bowed was still clearly watching Carmen through the window herself.

OOO

Making his way to the diner to meet Emma, Henry flipped through the pages of the fairytale book in search of some way to help Emma break the curse on the town. Or at least convince her that she needed to. So engrossed in his reading he wasn't paying attention to where he was walking until he collided with someone standing directly in front of him.

Clasping his book to his chest so as not to drop it, he looked up with an apology ready but it died in his throat as he took in the dark haired woman he had just bumped into. He recognised her but he couldn't remember from where. She was looking down at him with a raised eyebrow and a faintly amused look on her face, "cat got your tongue?" she said with her throaty accent.

Shaking off his stunned silence he quickly stepped back from her with an apology. It was then that he noted that she was standing next to a black pickup truck which Mr Tillman was currently attaching his tow trucks towline to. The mechanic nodded at the brunette before moving to get into his truck and she turned back to Henry, grinning broadly as she said "watch where you're going süsser, you never know who you'll bump into" and with that she moved to get into the tow truck as well.

He took a moment to watch the pair drive off before it finally struck him where he had seen the dark haired woman's face before. Opening his book again he began to quickly rifle through the pages, looking for the correct one and only barely noticing when Emma exited the diner and walked up to him.

"Hey kid, you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Not a ghost," Henry said as he finally found the page he was looking for, "something worse" he continued as he turned to his birth mother and revealed the picture on the book. There, clear as day on the page was an inked picture almost exactly like Carmen, only with much longer hair and below the image in intricate calligraphy was the name, "Carmilla".

- _Enchanted Forest_ -

The dark haired young woman, Carmilla she had told them when she awoke, still appeared terribly tired by her ordeal earlier in the day as Laura watched her stare into the flickering flames of the fireplace. She had recovered surprisingly quickly once she had regained consciousness and after the initial confusion on the whereabouts of her mother, news she bore with barely a sigh of resignation, she had turned down Laura's father's suggestion of calling for a physician to check on her.

She currently sat curled up in one of the large cushioned chairs of the sitting room that Laura and her father often spent their evenings in. Her face, ethereally and ghost like in the shifting shadows of the fire, was set in a tired almost bored expression with partially lidded and shadowed eyes. She brought to Laura's mind a cat lazily lounging, confidant and self-assured of its place in the world and there was something both breathtakingly beautiful and hauntingly sad in her dark gaze which left the younger girl entranced.

"Miss Carmilla," Laura's father spoke up from his own seat on the other side of the fire and to Laura's right, sharing the same couch as his daughter, "where is it that you come from? From what Kingdom does your family hale from?"

Laura quickly brought her eyes back to Carmilla, her gaze wide and curious about this almost otherworldly creature. Carmilla herself lazily turned her own gaze from the fire to the father and daughter pair, regarding them for a moment before smiling wryly and answering in her throaty accent, "I am terribly sorry," she began, her eyes locked with Laura for a brief moment and the other girl's heart jumped a beat and a blush rose to her cheeks, but the moment was over the second that Carmilla raised her gaze to the adult in the room and continued in an apologetic tone "but mama has expressly forbid me from ever talking about my family or our past with anyone."

Laura's father nodded slowly, a slight look of confusion on his face before he said "You needn't tell us anything my dear girl, I wouldn't want you to go against your mother's wishes."

Carmilla smiled gratefully at the older man before glancing to the door of the room, then in one graceful motion she stood from her seat and said "I'm still rather drained from the events of today, Laura" she turned her dark eyes back to the other girl who jumped with a start although Carmilla's gentle almost teasing smile quickly allowed the girl to relax, "would you be so kind as to show me where I shall be sleeping?"

Standing from her seat herself the shorter girl smiled shyly at her dark haired counterpart and replied, "I would love to."

OOO

The walk through the castle's halls towards the guest room that was to be Carmilla's quarters was quiet. While Laura walked with her hands clasped in front of her waist and eyes trained to the floor ahead of her she couldn't help but steal quick glances of the dark girl beside her.

Carmilla walked with an easy grace, hands clasped behind her, she seemed to glide with each step and moved so silently that if the other girl wasn't looking she could almost believe that she was the only one in the hall. Her quick glances towards the older girl were not going unnoticed either and each time Laura's eyes drifted back to her, Carmilla's small smile grew before she finally spoke up, never moving her eyes from the hall in front of her, "what's on your mind süsse?"

The sudden voice in the silence caused Laura to jump slightly in fright, an act which brought a low chuckle to the other girl's lips and a bright flush of embarrassment to Laura's pale neck and cheeks.

"I'm terribly sorry!" she began quickly, "it is just that I so rarely meet anyone my own age here at the caste, especially someone as beautiful as you" she rushed out, and then, realising just what she had said, she blushed brighter still which pulled another low throaty chuckle from the dark haired girl.

"Such a bashful little kätzchen," Carmilla said as the pair stopped outside the heavy wooden door to the guest room. Opening the door, Carmilla turned her dark gaze to Laura and as their eyes met the breath caught in Laura's throat. Slowly, the dark haired girl's lips pulled into a broad grin; it was there that Laura noted, almost distractedly, that at the very edges of Carmilla's smile her upper canines seemed longer and much sharper than her own. She was quickly brought out of her thoughts as the taller girl leaned in close to her, her lips just grazing the flesh of Laura's cheek as she spoke in a throaty whisper which made Laura's heart race, "I'm sure we will become _very_ close. Goodnight, kätzchen."

With that Carmilla entered her room and closed the door softly behind her, leaving Laura staring at the heavy wood flushed and breathing heavily a dreamy look in her eyes and a whispered "goodnight" leaving her lips.

- _Storybrooke_ -

The weather was surprisingly comfortable for being halfway through autumn as Sheri made her way home from her volunteer work at the hospital's blood bank. She smiled softly as she took in the leaves that had already started to fall from the branches of the trees that surrounded the sleepy little town, shades of reds, oranges and yellows fluttering through the air on gentle breezes.

"Hey again, kätzchen."

The now familiar accented voice sounded just to her side and caused her to jump and squeak in surprise as she spun to take in the tall dark form of Carmen Rouxstein. An amused smirk graced the taller girl's lips and Sheri could see amusement dancing in her dark eyes as they regarded her intently. Flushing embarrassedly she turned her gaze away from Carmen, one hand rising to toy with the hair brushed over her left ear.

"H-hi Carmen," she stuttered out, the two now walking side by side.

"Jumpy little thing, aren't you." Carmen teased with a low chuckle, although the easy almost lazy smile she flashed Sheri did ease some of the tension in her shoulders bringing a smile to her own lips.

"So I was wondering," Carmen began in a mock serious tone, her eyes forward and hands stuffed into the pockets of her leather jacket, "would you like to go to the Cat's Cradle sometime?"

Sheri's heart jumped a little in her chest while her shoulders hunched up shyly and a small smile spread to her lips almost unbidden at the request, although as soon as it came it was replaced with a frown as she remembered Michael's words from earlier. Glancing up at the taller girl she saw her watching her with expectant dark eyes, one raven black eyebrow arched upwards.

Lowering her eyes to the ground ahead of her she replied with a quiet "Sorry, but I..." before trailing off, her arms hugged around her own middle and shoulders once again hunched up. At the ensuing silence she glanced back to Carmilla who had also turned her eyes to the path ahead of them, a sad smile quirking the sides of her mouth and a strange melancholy in her eyes. Something in the dark girl's countenance pulled at Sheri's heart and she instinctively reached a hand out towards her to offer comfort although she quickly pulled it back to her chest before she made contact.

Noting Sheri's movement the taller girl turned to her, then with a tilt her head and a chuckle she smiled at her and said "Don't worry süsse, I don't bite."

Despite the joking almost teasing tone, Sheri couldn't help but note the sadness in her impossibly dark eyes and the tightness it created in her own chest.

OOO

In a town as quiet as Storybrooke there wasn't much for law enforcement to really do, this left Emma bored on most days as she sat at her desk, reclining back on her chair and staring at the slow moving hands of the clock on the wall. It was long moments like these that almost made her look forward to her altercations with the Mayor.

"Emma!" the sudden shout of her name along with the slamming open of the main door of the building pulled her from her thoughts and she dropped her eyes to the entrance of her office just as Henry came barrelling in, already struggling with his schoolbag in an effort to get something out of it.

"Shouldn't you be at school kid?" she said as she let her chair drop back to all four legs with a wooden thunk, one blond eyebrow raised as she regarded her son.

"No time for that!" he gasped out, finally pulling the book from his bag and slamming it on the desk in front of him. He quickly began to rifle through the pages as he continued on with "Sheri is in danger!", finding the page he was looking for he spun the book around to show Emma what was emblazoned on the page.

Leaning over her desk the Sheriff took in the picture on the page with furrowed brows, it looked remarkably like, "Carmen?", the picture depicted a dark haired woman crouched over a sleeping blond in a bed, the blond sharing many similarities to Sheri.

"Carmilla!" Henry corrected her, pointing to the name below the picture, " _Countess_ Carmilla!" he continued with heavy emphasis on the word Countess.

Emma looked up from the book to Henry and asked, her tone confused, "how exactly does this mean Sheri is in trouble?"

"Because Carmilla is _dangerous!_ "

This caused Emma's brow to furrow even further, two people in one day had said something similar about the dark girl, even friendly Ruby had seemed put off by her. Thinking back to her meeting with the younger woman that morning she couldn't pinpoint anything particularly off about her, she was a little flirty and clearly had an interest in Sheri, but they were both 18 so wasn't exactly scandalous.

It was then that it struck Emma, Storybrooke was a small town and it definitely had a rather old-fashioned feel to it. She knew from experience how deeply certain old prejudices could be ingrained into people and how they could affect those around them, particularly the younger generations.

"Because she's _gay!?_ " she exclaimed suddenly, causing Henry to jerk back in surprise and look at her with confusion. It was then that Emma realised, that despite how mature the kid seemed, he had no idea just what she was talking about and that perhaps it wasn't why _Henry_ thought Carmen was dangerous. He did think his own mother was the Evil Queen after all.

Dropping her face into her right hand with a sigh, elbow propped on her desk, she couldn't help but wish that Regina Mills could be the one to explain this to her son as it was not something she was looking forward to, or particularly knew how to explain to an eleven year old.

"Uh no," at Henry's exasperated tone Emma peeked out at him from between her fingers, "cos she's a  _vampire_ " he stated in a rather matter-of-fact tone.

_Because that makes so much more sense._


	5. Visitors in the Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you'd like to support my writing please check out my author's page on Amazon - [S.J.Lee](https://www.amazon.co.uk/S-J-Lee/e/B06Y4ZF3SP/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1).

Chapter Five: Visitors in the Night

- _Enchanted Forest-_

Laura's blue eyes drifted open, the sudden feeling that she was not alone in her bedroom causing her heart to hammer in the blonde's chest. The room was cloaked in darkness and silent, but the young woman could not shake the sensation that there was another presence in the room with her.

Too frightened to move all Laura could do was glance about the darkened room with her eyes and as she did so a shadow shifted, moving with a liquid grace as it separated from the darkness and moved towards the girl's bed. As the shadow drew closer, the blonde could make out more of its shape, svelte and graceful, it stalked through the darkness on four legs, its head kept low and making no sound as it moved.

The young woman felt the mattress depress near her feet as the shadowy figure moved onto the bed and as her eyes began to adjust to the darkness she could finally make out what the creature was. Slowly stalking over her body from the foot of the blonde's bed was a monstrous cat, larger than any dog the girl had ever seen, its eyes flashing hungrily, twin rubies in the darkness of the young woman's room.

Laura wanted to scream, to call out for help, as the massive beast stopped over her body, but as she locked eyes with the creature her mind felt strangely disconnected from her body as though she were not an active participant but rather an outside observer.

Slowly, the monster cat lowered its head, the creature's snout grazing against the blonde's throat before continuing lower, its chin dragging the young woman's quilt down her body. Surprisingly cold breath washed over the girl's chest, the neckline of her nightdress being dragged down to expose her collar and a small amount of cleavage.

A sudden sharp nip at the exposed skin of her chest drew a soft gasp from the young woman, her body flushing with a strange warmth as the creature bit into her chest followed by pulling sensation almost as though something was being drained from her body.

With her eyes growing heavy, Laura became aware of the weight above her shifting, moving from four points to two on either side of her hips. Lowering the gaze the girl watched as the shadow shifted, its form melting and changing until it no longer resembled a cat but rather an alluring woman with flowing dark hair.

The woman slowly raised herself away from the blonde's chest until all of her weight was placed over Laura's hips. With her eyes growing heavy, the young woman couldn't make out the dark figure above her in any great detail, all she could see was full lips stained a vibrant red and pulled into a wide grin, and then everything went dark.

Shooting up from her bed, breathing heavily with her quilt pooled around her hips, Laura looked about her bedroom frantically. Sunlight shone in through her window and no trace of the monstrous cat or the woman it became were anywhere to be seen.

Shakily making her way to her feet, the blonde made her way to the room's door. Taking hold of the door's handle she tried to open it but it refused to budge, still locked as she had left it when she went to bed the previous night. _It must've been a dream_. The girl thought, even as her hand rose to scratch at an itch over her left breast.

OOO

It had been several days since Laura had first had the dream about the monstrous cat and it had haunted again each following night. Feeling a little more drained each day, Laura had decided to spend some time in the castle's inner garden, hoping that the peaceful air along with the lush and colourful scenery may invigorate her to some degree.

"Here you are" drawled a throaty accented voice before a cool hand drifted through Laura's blonde hair and then equally cool and slight, but surprisingly firm arms wrapped around the young woman's shoulders. _Carmilla_. The girl thought, her body only tensing for the slightest of moments before a small smile graced her lips, a pink tinge to her cheeks at the brunette's playful closeness.

"Good morning Carmilla" the blonde said as the dark haired girl moved around the side of the bench Laura sat upon, collapsing gracefully but exhausted down beside her fair haired counterpart.

Humming low in her throat, a sound somewhere between a purr and a growl, the brunette took in the castle's garden with tired lidded eyes, "It certainly is morning" the darker girl drawled, before sliding lazily to the side until her head was resting on Laura's shoulder.

The blonde couldn't help but smile at her dark haired friend's actions; she always seemed tired throughout the days, sometimes spending entire mornings and well into most afternoons locked away in her guest room, although some of the castle staff had mentioned seeing the young woman wandering the halls at night seemingly in a trance, as though sleep walking. When she did venture out during the daylight hours to spend time with Laura, her movements, although still graceful, were sluggish and lazy and even as the pair spent time together the brunette would often lounge around in a way that always reminded the young woman of a cat and left her charmed.

A low growling drew Laura's eyes away from the garden to where she could see one of the castle's watchmen, who was currently staring with some confusion at the large guard dogs, one at the end of the two chains clasped in the man's left hand. Although usually rather docile, the two hounds shackles were raised and the pair were growling threateningly the pair as the watchman drew closer.

It was when the guard dogs were only a couple yards away, where they stopped and refused to move any further, that the blonde realised they were not growling at both girls but rather only Carmilla who seemed entirely unfazed, not even deigning to look at the hounds.

Deciding that forcing the hounds any further was a lost cause, the watchmen instead took them further into the castle's garden and away from the girls. As Laura watched the man leave she felt one of Carmilla's cool hands thread into her own while the brunette's right hand reached up to lazily curl a strand of the blonde's hair around her fingers.

It was another strange habit of the darker girl that Laura had noted in the time they spent together. The brunette was extremely affectionate towards the blonde, constantly finding excuses to touch the other girl, to run a cool hand through her hair or, as she was currently doing, draping herself across Laura's side. Having never had much experience with other girls, or really anyone, her own age the blonde had no idea whether this was odd or not. All she knew was that each time the brunette came near her, her heart would race and pleasant tingling would settle in her belly.

"Carmilla..." the blonde ventured shyly, "why is it that you always touch me so familiarly?" confusion laced the girl's words as she ducked her eyes away from the dark girl leaning against her side, yearning for and dreading the brunette's answer for reasons that the blonde was not entirely sure of.

"Because we are friend" answered Carmilla as though it were as simple a fact as that.

Brow furrowing, the blonde turned to her dark haired counterpart and spoke quietly but with vehemence, her chest aching at the brunette's answer, "we have only known one another for a few short days, yet you treat me as though we have known each other since childhood!", dropping her eyes to her own lap, where he hands were clasping tightly at her skirt, Laura continued on in an almost strained voice, "I feel that we are friends yet I know so little about you."

It was true, in all their conversations the brunette always declined to divulge anything about herself or her past, never with any form of anger but with a gentle melancholy that left a hollow ache in the blonde's chest. All Laura knew of the other girl was her name, that her family was of an exceptionally old and noble line and hailed from somewhere to the west.

There was silence for a moment before a long sigh escaped from the brunette's lips. Suddenly her face appeared before the blonde's eyes as the other girl dropped her head gently into Laura's lap, staring up at her with lidded dark eyes. Carmilla regarded Laura for a moment, her dark gaze travelling about the blonde's face and drawing a pink tinge to the young girl's cheek as she reached up with a cool hand to cup it; her thumb gently rubbing against Laura's flushed skin.

"Are you unhappy with me?" she asked in a quiet voice.

Taken by surprise by the question, Laura's blue eyes widened, the pleasant tingling in her belly now taking over her entire chest as she weakly shook her head. Carmilla smiled gently at the blonde's movement, continuing to stroke the other girl's cheek as she almost whispered, in a vaguely reverent manner.

"You have such lovely eyes, kätzchen, so full of innocence", even though she continued to smile at the blonde, Laura couldn't help but notice that there was a sadness to the dark girl's features, one that always seemed to cling to Carmilla, hidden behind her impossibly dark eyes and elegant stride. It brought an ache to Laura's heart every time she witnessed it.

OOO

The two girls made their way through the castle's gardens at a leisurely pace; Carmilla hooking her right arm with Laura's left making sure that the pair was in constant contact, the brunette's cool presence pressing against the shorter girl's much warmer side.

Gentle warmth had bloomed in the shorter girl's chest at Carmilla's presence, chasing away the melancholy pain which had settled over the blonde just a short time earlier. As the pair walked, the brunette's long and lustrous hair brushed against Laura's cheek with the gentle breeze which blew over the castle's grounds. She marvelled at the other girl's hair every time she saw it, falling in ebony waves down the brunette's back and almost begging the shorter girl to run her fingers through it, an action that she was fairly sure the dark girl would welcome.

Sauntering aimlessly through the gardens, the blonde's attention was soon taken up by a group of darkly dressed people making their way past the edge of the castle grounds. A sombre air followed the group and as Laura watched them she noted that held aloft between six men was a dark wooden coffin and somewhere in her mind she remembered her father mentioning that a young girl had taken ill several days earlier and had recently passed on.

Taking her arm from Carmilla's grasp, the shorter girl clasped her hands together in front of her chest and bowed her head. Eyes closed the blonde began to hum a gentle hymn, praying for the Creator to take the departed young girl's soul into his embrace.

A sudden hiss to her left drew the blonde from her hymn and she turned to see her dark haired friend glaring at the passing funeral procession, a wicked scowl crossing her beautiful features as she regarded the sombre group of darkly dressed people.

"Such wretched noise!" she hissed, turning her dark gaze to Laura, "Music like that has no place in my presence!"

Thoroughly taken aback by her friend's outburst, the blonde's blue eyes widened in shock as she said, almost distractedly, "I think it sweet, to sing a hymn and ask the Creator's protection for those who have passed."

"Creator!" the brunette hissed again, her clear anger drawing an uncomfortable shiver of fear down Laura's spine, Carmilla continued with an almost frantic vehemence, "what protection does this Creator give? To let those die before their time?" the brunette stepped forward forcing her fair haired counterpart to step back as she went on "what of those who do not believe? Or those with no one to sing them hymns? Do they not deserve protection? How do you even know that my religion and yours mix?"

Laura gasped as something almost primal and red flashed in the other girl's eyes for a moment. Almost snarling, Carmilla tore her eyes away from the blonde and back to the funeral procession, she continued to glare for a few short moments before dropping her angry gaze to the ground and then, with a throaty growl, the brunette spun on her heel and stormed away from the shorter girl, her dark hair flowing behind her like a cape.

- _Storybrooke-_

It had grown rather late in the small town but Sheri couldn't sleep. She sat awake at the desk in her bedroom, a book open in front of the blonde that her distracted mind wasn't taking in as she stared blankly at the open pages.

She had been out of sorts ever since her meeting with Carmen, the brunette and her beautiful but somehow sad dark eyes constantly on Sheri's mind, the girl intensely curious about just why those pools of liquid shadow always seemed melancholy, why at times her smile seemed so sad and lonely. A sudden knock at her bedroom window startled the young blonde from her trance. Turning from her book, her blue eyes widened as she saw the dark figure of girl that was haunting her thoughts crouched on her home's porch roof, smirking cheekily at her from the window.

Pensively the girl moved to open the window and was greeted with the dark girl's throaty accent as she said "Hey kätzchen", her playful tone drawing a pink tint to the blonde cheeks.

"Carmen, what are you doing here?" the blonde whispered almost urgently, glancing at her bedroom door as she worried that her father would hear the two girls talking.

The brunette grinned crookedly at her and with a shrug of her shoulders replied "you seemed upset earlier, thought you could use a little fun," as if just realising how her actions could be perceived she continued with a self-deprecating tone, "although now that I think about it, this is a _little_ stalkerish" bringing a small smile to the blonde's lips.

"It's alright" Sheri said in a bashful whisper, her eyes dropping from the other girl's dark gaze shyly as one hand raised to nervously play with the hair brushed over the blonde's ear.

The darker girl inclined her head away from the house as she suggested "why don't you sneak out, come to the Cat's Cradle with me?"

Sheri's brow furrowed, she was extremely tempted to take the brunette up on her offer, despite the dark girl's at times rather intimidating beauty, there was something about her that at once thrilled the blonde and set her at ease. Glancing back at her door once again, the young woman muttered, "but my dad, he doesn't like me being out after dark" she then turned back to the brunette with an apologetic frown.

The darker girl grinned broadly at Sheri as she leaned through her window and closer to the blonde "do you always do what daddy tells you?" she asked with a playful challenging tone. Leaning back from the window the brunette offered her hand to the other girl before continuing in a gentle almost coaxing voice "come on kätzchen, I promise to keep an eye on you."

Glancing back at her bedroom door once again, Sheri clasped her hands in front of her chest, her loyalty to her father warring with her desire to spend time with the brunette. Nodding determinedly, the young woman turned to the dark girl and reaching up with one hand to brush at her hair nervously she extended the other for Carmen's outstretched hand and breathed in a shy whisper.

"Okay."


	6. Child of the Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you'd like to support my writing please check out my author's page on Amazon - [S.J.Lee](https://www.amazon.co.uk/S-J-Lee/e/B06Y4ZF3SP/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1).

Chapter Six: Child of the Night

 

- _Storybrooke-_

     The Cat’s Cradle was a rather non-descript nightclub, a two story flat roofed brick building, windows shaded by dark curtains and a double door sitting atop a short set of step, above which was the name of the club in a design reminiscent of string extending from the tip of a cat’s tail and lit up by purple lights. Standing just outside of the double doors was a large burly man, nearly as big as Michael, dressed all in black with his arms crossed over his broad chest and face set into an impassive scowl.

     Already Sheri felt out of place in her pale yellow blouse, light blue jeans and light brown converse, light brown hair tied up away from her pale neck and blue eyes wide and suddenly panicked as they flickered from the burly man, to the door behind him and back again.

     “Carmen,” her hand tightened around the cool arm of the girl at her side, black leather squeaking under her grip as she turned her gaze to the dark haired girl, “are you sure we can get in? Aren’t we under age?”

     The taller teen chuckled before turning her dark gaze to Sheri, eyes faintly amused as her lips quirked in a smirk.

     “No need to worry kätzchen,” she said, throaty accent acting almost like a caress of its own, “I own the place.”

     Confusion settled over the shorter girl’s soft features for a moment, as far as she was aware Carmen was the same age as her, if maybe a year or two older. The thought that she owned a nightclub seemed unbelievable, but then again most things about the dark haired young woman seemed unbelievable. Noting Sheri’s confusion the taller teen’s lightly tanned feature’s gentled, a faraway sadness settling in her dark eyes.

     “I inherited it,” she whispered, “from my mother. For the most part I just get a cut of the profits and I make sure it is, _decorated_ , to my tastes” the melancholy lifted from her features as her gaze drifted back to the Cat’s Cradle, tone turning playful “it also means that I get to dance the night away as much as I want.”

     As the two continued toward the club a blush rose to Sheri’s pale cheeks and her shoulders hunched up, despite the older girl’s words she was still worried, heart thundering in her chest as she shyly whispered her worries toward the dark young woman.

     “I’ve never been to a club before.”

     With another throaty chuckle Carmen placed a cool hand over Sheri’s much warmer one still gripping her arm, squeezing gently as she leant over to whisper into her ear.

     “Don’t worry kätzchen, I’ll protect you.”

     A shiver ran up the shorter girl’s spine that had nothing to do with social anxiety, the flush colouring her cheeks burning brighter as cool breath blew over her ear.

 

     It didn’t take long for Sheri to note the rather unique décor of the club, long purple velvet curtains covered the windows and were draped above the bar while dotted around the edges of the single large room were a number of artistic carvings of cats of varying sizes and shapes.

     The lighting was low giving the club a mysterious air, a large dance floor, currently filled with people dancing energetically to the heavy bass of the music, took up the centre of the room with a number of cushioned booths around the edges. A single wooden bar took up the majority of one wall and a small stage another, currently occupied by a single DJ and his equipment.

     All around the shaded room were people of all ages, shapes and sizes, the majority of them dressed in dark colours giving them an almost gothic appearance and filling the open space with humid warmth that clung to Sheri’s bare arms and neck. As the beat of the music vibrated up through the teen from the wood panelled floor she could feel the tense muscles in her shoulders start to relax.

     Turning to Carmen she felt herself further relax at sight of the easy smile curving the taller girl’s lips, the almost primal revelry of the people dancing seeming to bring new life to the dark haired young woman. Carmen turned her shining dark gaze to Sheri and gestured with her head toward the bar before wrapping her surprisingly strong hand around the shorter teen’s and guiding her through the crowd, people parting easily around the brunette.

     Once they reached the bar the pair found the barman already pouring two glasses of what appeared to be lemonade and placing it on the polished wood in front of them. Smiling almost predatorily, Carmen pulled the shorter teen closer, cool breath brushing over Sheri’s ear leant in to be heard over the music.

     “Care to dance kätzchen?”

     Flushing red the pale girl let her eyes drift to the packed dance floor, men and women swaying to the beat, each individual lost in the rhythmic pounding bass almost hypnotically primal in their movements. Anxiety bubbled up in her chest again, her desire to let go like those around her at war with Sheri’s naturally shyness and with hunched shoulders she met the taller girl’s hopeful gaze with her own apologetic one.

     At the sight of the light dimming in the other teen’s shadowy gaze Sheri steeled her resolve, reaching for Carmen’s shoulders and pulling her close to whisper directly into one lightly tanned ear.

     “Go, I just need to work up a little more courage.”

     Leaning back the dark haired young woman locked her dark pools with Sheri’s blue, her gaze questioning. The shorter girl smiled weakly up at Carmen and inclined her head toward the dance floor where after a moment’s hesitation the brunette grinned rakishly, removing her leather jacket to drape over the bar where it was quickly stored away by the silent barman before she sauntered out amongst the dancers.

     As Sheri watched the other girl Carmen started to sway along to the beat, movements graceful and almost otherworldly, toned arms on full display and dark eyes closed in primal ecstasy. The sight before the blue eyed girl was truly breathtaking, every shift of the dark haired teen’s body fluid and hypnotic, bringing an unfamiliar heat to Sheri’s belly, her heart racing and breath quickening as she took in the most sensual sight she had ever seen before.

     Above the almost erotic sway of the taller teen’s body though, the most breathtaking sight before Sheri’s wide eyed gaze was how relaxed Carmen’s face had become, as though all the tension that was always just below the surface, no matter how well hidden, was forgotten in the flow of music and movement.

     “Hey darlin’” a rough voice drew Sheri from her trance, blue eyes moving away from the alluring sight of the dancing brunette to the side where three young men, probably barely old enough to drink, had moved in beside her at the bar. Shoulders hunching the young woman turned away from the newcomers, gaze dropping to the floor.

     “Come on cutie, no need to be shy” another of the group spoke up, the heat of his body almost like a furnace beside the teen as she tried to ignore their presence, her heart pounding in her chest for an entirely new reason.

     “Why don’t you come spend some time with us?” the third said, moving around the young woman until she was pinned between them, a cold sweat settling into Sheri’s pale skin as she continued to ignore them, desperately wishing that she were anywhere else at the moment.

     “Please leave me alone,” she practically whispered out, her quiet voice lost to the music.

     One of the three men leaned in closer, hot breath teasing at Sheri’s ear and making her back and shoulders tense almost painfully as she hunched down even further and tried to lean away from him to no avail.

     “Come on, it’ll be fun.”

     “There a problem here?” a feminine voice with a familiar throaty accent drifted toward the scared teen somehow impossibly loud even over the music permeating the club. As one the four turned to Carmen, the dark haired woman standing with an easy casualness that somehow still radiated a threat that caused Sheri’s heart to stutter in her chest.

     “Oh you can join us to sweetheart” one of the men addressed the dark haired teen, moving forward and reaching for her shoulder only to freeze as she turned her dark eyes toward him, face placid but gaze carrying a clear threat.

     Ignoring the three men the dark teen stepped toward the trembling Sheri, gently placing her cool arm around the shorter girl’s shoulders and guiding her away from the circling men, her solid presence easing the panic that had risen in the young woman.

     “Hold on!” the man who must have been the leader of the group called out, dropping a large hand onto Carmen’s shoulder.

     The dark haired young woman’s head spun around, brow set in an impressive scowl, and pressed so firmly against the taller teen’s side Sheri felt what like growl rumble in the dark haired girl’s chest. At the angle she was at the shorter of the pair couldn’t fully see Carmen’s face but she could almost feel the three men stumble away in fright.

     Carmen’s body was like a steel pole, dark gaze locked firmly on the group of men as they hurried away from the two teens, the dark haired girl’s body completely unmoving almost as though she weren’t even breathing until finally the trio were out of sight.

     Finally relaxing Carmen guided Sheri out into the crush of the dance floor, people drifting away from the dark haired teen and creating a clear circle of space around the two young women as she turned to face the shorter girl, face a stone mask and dark eyes drifting over her pale face with such intensity that Sheri’s breath caught in her throat.

     Distantly the blue eyed teen was aware that the music had changed to something slower, couple drifting closer around the dance floor as Carmen’s hand settled on the other teen’s hips. Cool breath brushed over Sheri’s ear, sending a pleasant shiver through the teen’s body as heat pooled low in her belly.

     “You okay kätzchen?”

     Breath still caught in her chest the shorter of the pair could only nod weakly, hands moving to rest on the taller girl’s strong shoulders while her blue eyes stared up into pools of liquid shadow.

     Carmen smiled gently down at her, brow relaxing from its stony mask as she slowly started to guide the other teen to sway to the music around them. Dancing with the dark teen, the dim light of the room hiding the other people in shadow and making it feel as though they were the only two people in the building, Sheri felt her whole body tingle, heart pounding like a humming bird in her chest as her blue eyes dropping to Carmen’s mouth.

     _She’s so beautiful._

     The thought should have caught Sheri off guard but it felt so natural, a bizarre mixture of excitement and apprehension filling her head as her blue eyes remained fixated on those full lips, her tongue peaking out slightly to wet her own lips before her gaze lifted to Carmen’s dark eyes that stared down at her with an almost primal intensity.


	7. Questions and Dreams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you'd like to support my writing please check out my author's page on Amazon - [S.J.Lee](https://www.amazon.co.uk/S-J-Lee/e/B06Y4ZF3SP/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1).

Chapter Seven: Questions and Dreams

_-Enchanted Forest-_

The castle's dining room was relatively humble despite the wealth of its owners, there was a single large window hidden behind dark curtains next to a modest fireplace at one end. A wall was taken up by a row of candles while the opposite held a line of oaken cupboards, while the whole room was barely large enough for the wooden table that could seat sixteen people although it currently only held three diners, Laura's father sitting at the top with his back to the burning fire, to his right sat Laura blue eyes glancing shyly from her food to across the table at Carmilla who was lazily pushing her own food around her plate, cheek resting against an upturned fist and shoulders hunched languidly.

Silence settled over the room's occupants like a heavy cloak, awkwardness preventing Laura from speaking up as she noted that the dark haired girl had barely touched her food. Worry settled in the younger woman's chest with the knowledge that Carmilla rarely joined the pair for meals and to the blue eyed teen's recollection she had never seen her friend eat anything.

Mouth opening to ask if the food was not to the other girl's taste she locked eyes with Carmilla's dark gaze, breath catching in her chest as a slow, teasing smile spread across the older teen's sleepy features, drawing a flush over Laura's pale features as her eyes dropped back to the table and her shoulder hunched with a sheepish giggle.

"Oh!"

Laura's father suddenly exclaimed, her spine going rigid as her heart stuttered fearfully in her chest, blue eyes wide as they snapped to the silver haired man. A sigh of relief left the teen's lips as she saw that her father's gaze had turned up as though he were just recalling a memory, having apparently not noticed the byplay of the two girls, Carmilla own dark gaze drifting toward the older man before dropping bored back to her plate.

"I have been meaning to say," the silver haired man let his gaze drift between the two teens before settling mostly on Laura, worry settling in his own blue eyed gaze, "I have heard some rather troubling news."

This drew the younger teen's attention more firmly on her father although she noted out of the corner of her eyes that her dark haired friend was barely focusing on what was being said.

"A mysterious disease has been spreading throughout the nearby town," Carmilla's motions froze, in fact her entire body seemed to seize up to the point that Laura was almost certain the dark haired teen wasn't even breathing. Brow furrowing, she turned to her oblivious father.

"Father, is this really the proper time to speak about such matters?"

"But Laura dear I simply must. For you see this disease appears to only be spreading amongst young women, barely older than both of you," his eyes drifted worriedly between the pair, not noticing the rigidity of Carmilla's form before locking with his daughter's own blue gaze, his hand drifting out to settle gently on her much smaller one.

"I could not stand it if anything were to happen to you, sweetheart. I only hope that the Gods will put an end to this unnatural disease."

There was a sudden rattling of cutlery and an echoing bang as something struck the table, jolting the father and daughter pair in their seat as twin blue eyed gazes snapped to the only other occupant in the room, Carmilla, standing with her hands braced on either side of her plate and dark eyes glaring viciously down at the table.

"Gods!" she practically snarled, "Nature! This disease that invades the country is natural. Nature. All things proceed from Nature, don't they?" her dark gaze lifted from the table, moving from Laura to Laura's father as she continued on passionately, eyes intense, "all things in heaving, in the land and beneath it, act and live as Nature ordains."

The dark haired teen's eyes slipped slowly back to the table, the intensity that had overtaken her having seemingly drained completely from her body before the stunned gaze of the other two at the table. Laura's heart pounded in her chest, blue eyes wide as she watched a deep sadness settle over Carmilla's form.

"At least, I think so," the older teen whispered before in a single graceful movement she spun from the table and practically glided from the room.

 

That night it happened again. Laura's blue eyes snapped open within the dim light of her room, the silvery light of the moon casting ghostly shadows through the gently waving curtains of the window. Heart pounding in her chest even as her body froze up in terror as she was instinctively aware of a sinister presence slowly approaching the bed.

A weight settled into her mattress near her feet, a dark silhouette melting out of the shadows into the svelte, predatory figure of the monstrous cat that had been haunting the teen's dreams. Slowly, almost leisurely the lithe creature crawled up over the young woman's prone body. Despite the rapid pounding of her heart the girl's breathing was surprisingly calm as the monster cat slowly lowered its head, cool breath blowing over Laura's slender throat as gently the beast's snout grazed her tender flesh, dragging her quilt and nightdress down until her collar was exposed.

Laura flinched at the feel of a sharp nip against her skin, breath escaping in a gasp at a sudden pulling sensation that raised a flush across the teen's pale flesh. It seemed to continue on for an eternity, the creature's draining something vital from the young woman's body until her eyes started to grow heavy.

The weight over the blue eyed girl's body shifted, the dark form shifting and shrinking until the silhouette settled into that of a woman. As the shadowy figure sat up, cool weight pressing more firmly atop Laura's hips, her heavy gaze drifted over red stained lips before settling on a pair of sparkling ruby eyes that were equal parts malice and remorse before finally darkness claimed the teen into a dreamless slumber.

_-Storybrooke-_

Sheri's gaze travelled over the few customers inside of Granny's through the window, blue eyes searching out the familiar scraggly red hair of Dr. Hopper while making sure that neither her father nor Michael Friston were inside. She spotted Pongo first, the Dalmatian sitting next to a table furthest from the door that was luckily enough far enough away from the other occupants of the diner.

Taking a deep breath to steel her nerves the blonde teen hunched her shoulders and pushed through the door, eyes glued resolutely to the friendly spotted dog as he raised his head to regard the newcomer, the girl making sure not to make eye contact with any of the other customers. Stopping at the table she nervously raised her eyes to the older man who soon took note of his audience, raising his gaze from his book to smile gently at the young woman.

"Sheri, it's nice to see you."

She gave the psychologist a somewhat nervous smile, blue eyes drifting back over the diner's other occupants, noting Ruby eying the shy girl with a brief flare of interest before returning to her work with a bored sigh. Shoulders hunching the teen dropped into the seat across from Archie, the redhead's brow furrowing worriedly as he reached up to fix his glasses while taking in the girl's nervous disposition.

"Actually, Dr. Hopper, I wanted to talk to you about something," she all but whispered as she leaned slightly over the table toward him.

"Is there something bothering you Sheri?" the psychologist matched her quiet tone, clasping his hand together on the table in front of him while giving the nervous blonde teen his full attention.

The pair sat in silence for a moment, the young woman obviously still fighting with some kind of internal turmoil, eyes dropping from the psychologist's kind face as she searched for the right words to describe what she had been feeling lately, particularly around a certain dark haired girl with sad yet friendly eyes. Wrapping her arms around her slight form the blonde once again took in a slow breath to steel her nerves.

"I-it's just that lately I've been-" she paused, cheeks flushing embarrassedly before she pushed through her natural shyness and continued, Pongo resting his head in her lap almost as comfort, the teen's hand dropping to stroke the Dalmatian's short fur distractedly, "I've been feeling strange, around a certain person."

Archie coughed, his own cheeks flushing slightly before he leaned a little closer to the teen, keeping his voice low so as not to attract the attention of the other customer's.

"Wouldn't you feel more comfortable discussing this with your father?" he asked, his tone friendly but clearly uncomfortable with the subject.

Sheri shook her head weakly, one hand rising to nervously fiddle with the hair near her ear as she continued to pet Pongo, gaze slowly lifting from the table to the older man's.

"I can't because of who it is."

Dr. Hopper regarded the girl's nervous blue eyes for a moment before letting his features melt back into a gentle smile, making a concentrated effort to push through his own unease at discussing what was most likely young love.

"Well then, can you tell exactly how this person makes you feel?"

Both of Sheri's hands dropped to her lap, blue eyes sliding away from Archie's gentle gaze and back to the table as her shoulder hunched up nearly to her ears. The psychologist couldn't help the fond smile as he watched the shy teen patiently.

"Nervous," she started after a long pause, shoulders slowly relaxing as the blonde girl remembered just what it felt like whenever Carmen's dark eyes locked with her own, "exhilarated," she practically breathed out raising her gaze to meet Dr. Hopper's, blue eyes lighting up as she continued on, "whenever they're around my heart pounds so fast that it's like it's trying to escape! They're eyes are so beautiful, like pools of shadows and when I look into them it's almost like I'm in a trance" her heart fluttered at the picture forming in her mind's eye, "and when they smile my chest goes tight and it's hard to breath! Even when they're not around I keep finding myself thinking of them."

Archie chuckled as he watched the normally pensive teen practically vibrate with excitement. She looked happy; something that he had noted in the past was a rare thing.

"It sounds like you're in love Sheri. I don't see what's wrong with that."

The girl let out a squeak of surprise, her whole body tensing up as her eyes dropped away from Dr. Hopper's gaze once more.

"B-but, the person who makes me feel like this," she paused almost as though the words were sticking in her throat, glancing up at Archie through her bangs before finally forcing herself to continue, "it's Carmen."

Surprise flashed over the psychologist's face for a moment, the redhead leaning back in his chair before he was able to shake off his shock at the sight of panic flashing in the teen's innocent blue eyes. Leaning back across the table he regarded Sheri with a gentle intensity.

"Sheri," he said softly yet firmly, waiting until the young woman raised her gaze back to his own before continuing, "what you're feeling is perfectly natural, there is absolutely nothing wrong with you or how you feel."

"Archie's right!" the pair jumped in their seats at the new voice, twin pairs of wide eyes turning to see Ruby standing tall next to their table, green eyes narrowed and resolute and face more serious than either had ever seen before she they locked her gaze on the younger woman, "there's absolutely nothing wrong with you and if anyone says otherwise they're not worth the air they breathe."

Slowly the blonde teen smiled up at the brunette, hunched shoulder relaxing once more.

"Thanks Ruby."

"Don't mention it," her serious visage gentled into a broad teasing grin, "besides you and Rouxstein are adorable together! You should totally tell her how you feel."

Instantly the pale girl's face was aflame, eyes snapping back to the table top while one hand rose to play nervously with her hair.

"B-but what if she doesn't feel the same."

"Oh sweetie," the taller woman slid into the booth beside Sheri, wrapping an arm around the teen's shoulders and pulling her into a side hug, "I've seen the way she looks at you, it's like she wants to eat you right up!" the very idea had the girl's cheeks burning even hotter even as pleasant feeling started to bubble up from her belly, "now I may not like tall, dark and broody myself but anyone that can get you out of your shell can't be all bad and don't think I didn't see you sneaking out to the Cat's Cradle last night, it's like right across from the Rabbit Hole."

Heart fluttering in her chest the blonde lifted her gaze to Archie who was smiling gently at her from the other side of the booth before turning toward the grinning brunette, a small smile spreading across her own features at being surrounded by such acceptance even as excitement bloomed within her at the thought of telling Carmen just how she felt.

 

Henry scanned each of the houses in what amounted to one of Storybrooke's rougher areas, although it was near identical to everywhere else in the cursed town beyond the buildings looking slightly rundown. He was looking for any house that looked like it belonged to a vampire but wasn't entirely sure what that was, especially considering Carmen appeared to be able to walk about during the day and that was the extent of his knowledge on the creatures.

The ten year old knew that the curse had taken away the memories and powers of the people caught within it as he had never witnessed Ruby turn into a wolf during a full moon but even if Carmen wasn't a vampire while in Storybrooke she was still a dangerous villain and with the curse weakening there was no telling just what the vampire girl could do.

A smile spread over the boy's youthful face as he recognised a familiar black pickup truck sitting in the driveway of one of the houses, but he froze in his steps as he saw someone standing staring nervously at the building. Sheri Le Fanu was standing on the sidewalk directly in front of what must have been Carmen's home, one hand toying with a few strands of hair near her ear and completely oblivious to everything around her.

Panic shot through the young boy as he watched the blonde teen straighten her slightly hunched shoulders before resolutely marching toward the purple painted door of the house, a look of determination replacing her normally apprehensive features. For a moment Henry just stood there as Sheri approached the lair of her story book villain before the realisation that he would need backup if he was going to save her and with that thought he spun around and started to sprint as fast as he could in the direction of the Sheriff's Station.

 

Sheri waited with baited breath after ringing the doorbell, her heart pounding and mind running a hundred miles a minute as she wondered just what she was going to say to Carmen when she saw her. When the door finally opened the blonde took a deep breath to steel her nerves only for it to freeze in her chest as she laid eyes on the brunette.

Carmen's hair was mussed and expression sleepy, clad in loose fitting black silk pajama pants and a short vest top that left her toned arms bare the whole look gave the taller teen a surprisingly soft air completely at odds with her usual easy confidence. As soon as the brunette saw Sheri her face slackened in surprise before her dark eyes seemed to sparkle and a sleepy smile spread across her face.

"Kätzchen", she breathed, accent even throatier than usual "well isn't this a pleasant surprise".

"Hey Carmen", the blonde teen almost instinctively smiled back at the brunette the two teen's regarding one another warmly in silence for a moment before the brunette seemed to jump in surprise, her lightly tanned cheeks flushing in embarassment and making the shorter girl's smile broaden ever so slight.

"Oh, uh, want to come in?" she asked, ducking her dark gaze away from Sheri almost shyly.

"Sure!" the blonde practically chirped, the taller teen stepping back and letting the younger girl step into her home, blue eyes instantly scanning the interior of the house, the walls split black on top and a dark purple from waist height down. Directly ahead of them was a dark carpeted stairway to the upper floor while to the right was an archway leading to a open planned living room and kitchen, a single purple couch sitting pressed up against the short dividing wall and directly across from the TV that sat atop a dark wooden unit, next to the couch on either side were small circular tables made from identical wood while dark curtains bracketed each of the large bay windows and a large purple rug sitting in the centre.

Moving further into the room Sheri was able to see into the kitchen, black marble countertops and similarly coloured panelled flooring. Everything was very dark but overall calming, a scent of what the blonde guessed was lavender filling the air as she moved toward the couch that Carmen was gesturing to, taking a seat at one end and watching as the brunette moved toward the kitchen, exuding grace even in her tired state.

"Let me get you something to drink?"

"Oh, no, its fine" the blonde girl stated even as she let her eyes continue to take in the dark interior before a flash of white caught her gaze. An elegant white angora cat sauntered into the living room, fluffy tail waving lazily behind it and blue eyes regarding the newcomer curiously.

Reaching out cautiously the teen smiled happily as the car approached, rubbing its head into the girl's outstretched hand with a purr.

"Ah, I see you've met Duchess," Carmen's voice drifted into the room shortly before the brunette stepped back into the living room, two glasses of juice in her hands as she smiled gently down at the pair.

The second the taller teen sat down on the couch beside Sheri the cat leapt up onto her lap, currling up with a content purr even as it continued to watch the blonde teen. With a low chuckle Carmen handed the shorter teen her glass before dropping her now free hand to let her fingers comb gently along Duchess's fur.

"She's very pretty," the blue eyed girl said, a pleasant warmth burning in her belly as she watched the brunette teen pet the cat before quite mewls once again drew her attention away from Carmen, the other teen's dark eyes drifting away as well as three tiny kittens ambled into sight, one white like the adult cat, another a light brown and the last a dark grey.

"Ah! And here come my little schätze!" Carmen's voice was warm with affection and the sound was enough to draw Sheri's gaze away from the adorable sight of the kitten and back to the other teen, her heart pounding in her chest even as her belly churned pleasantly at the sight before her.

The kittens curiously approached the starnger in their home, jostling one another to get attention from the blonde teen and drawing a giggle as she dropped her gaze from Carmen to the three kittens.

With a warm chuckle the brunette teen stood up from the couch, Sheri lifting her eyes to follow the other girl and noting that Duchess was now perched around Carmen's shoulders almost like a fluffy, white scarf. Their owner's movements seemed to also draw the attention of the three kittens, all three of them rushing to follow the brunette into the kitchen.

"I hope you don't mind if I quickly get these little ones something to eat."

"Not at all," Sheri said, smiling warmly as she watched the kittens scramble around the brunette's feet even as the older teen stretched up to grab a can of cat food from the cupboards, effortlessly working around the larger cat still perched on her shoulders.

Once again a pleasant warmth burned within the blonde teen as she watched Carmen, the brunette reaching up with one hand to scratch at Duchess's ears while the other went through the motions of opening the can of food and emptying it out into four dishes, all the while a gentle smile gracing her usually teasing features.

So lost in her admiration of the other teen Sheri flushed a bright red as the brunette's dark gaze locked with her own, Carmen turning her gentle smile toward the shorter girl as she set the white angora down next to her kittens, her own cheeks warming at being caught in such an unguarded moment.


End file.
